Double pocketed pouch



July 30, 1968 (DI-Ow W. C. CURTIS DOUBLE POCKET ED POUCH Filed April 22, 1966 I: INVENTOR J P WALTER c. CURT\S ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,394,870 DOUBLE POCKETED POUCH Waiter C. Curtis, Mount Vernon, Ohio, assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation ofNew York Filed Apr. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 544,510 12 Claims. (Cl. 229-56) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to double pocketed pouches for use as containers for tobacco or other materials. The double pocketed pouch is formed by folding a single sheet of flexible material upon itself twice in the same direction to form a pair of open topped pockets. The folding is so accomplished as to form one pocket shorter than another pocket with the open top of the shorter pocket being defined by the first fold line.

In the manufacture of pipe tobacco, it is often idesirable to package the tobacco in a flexible pouch which the pipe smoker can carry in his pocket. The object of this invention is to provide an improved pouch of the character stated which can be used for packaging related materials. The invention also provides an improved method of forming and filling such pouches.

The objects and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description of one specific embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic representation of one illustrative pouch forming and filling method of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the broken line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of one illustrative double pocketed pouch formed in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane 66 of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing an optional first fold providing one wall which is shorter than the other wall, thereby to provide a ready opening lip projection.

In general terms, the double pocketed pouch of this invention comprises a single sheet of flexible heat sealable material which has been folded upon itself twice in the same direction with the edges of the material sealed together parallel to the direction of fold to form two connected and adjacent but non-communicating pockets. In the particular example disclosed in the drawings, one of the two pockets has been made shorter or more shallow than the other for the purposes of a particular application, but the pockets could be of the same size if desired. The particular example shown in the drawings is a tobacco pouch having a small pocket on the side for matches, cigarette paper, pipe cleaners, or other similar articles that a pipe smoker might wish to carry along with this tobacco.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the pouches are formed from a continuous web of flexible material 10' which is fed from a stock roll 11 to a first folding device 12 of any 3,394,870 Patented July 30, 1968 well known form, which progressively folds the flexible material 10 upon itself as indicated by the cross-sectional view in FIGURE 2. The flexible material is then fed to a similar second folding device 13, which again progressively folds the flexible material upon itself in the same direction as indicated by the cross-sectional view in FIGURE 3. For the purposes of this particular application, the first folding device 12 produces a full fold in the flexible material, while the second folding device 13 produces a partial or lesser width fold. The purpose of the partial fold is to make one of the two pockets shorter or shallower than the other for reasons which will be explained later. The double folded material defines two non-cornmunicating pouch pockets or openings as indicated at 14 and 15 in FIGURE 3, with one of the two openings or pockets being shorter or shallower than the other in the direction of the fold.

From the second folding device 13, the double folded material is fed to a heat sealing device 16 which seals the flexible material together along two parallel lines, the distance between the two parallel lines defining the width of the double pocketed pouch. The sealed areas are relatively wide, as indicated in FIGURE 4, to permit cutting down the center of each sealed portion without weakening the seal on either side of the cut. The sealed material may then be fed into a filling and closing machine schematically illustrated at 17 and which may be of any approved construction, which fills the larger of the two pockets with -a predetermined amount of tobacco and the smaller of the two pockets with matches, cigarette paper, or the like, and then closes the top of the larger pocket by rolling the top edge down, as indicated in FIGURE 5 and 6. The top could also be closed by a simple fold rather than a roll if desired. The filled and closed pouches, still connected together in serial fashion, are then fed to a cutting device 18 which cuts along the center line of each seal to separate the individual pouches, which may then be inserted into cartons or other forms of receivers by conventional packaging means which are not shown in the drawings. It will be apparent that the filling step may be eliminated if desired and the pouches cut apart at 18 delivered empty into suitable collecting means.

The double pocketed pouches of this invention can be formed from any suitable flexible material which is adapted to be heat sealed, many of which are known to those skilled in the art. Many known examples of such materials are polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinychloride. A paper substrate coated on both sides with a film of one of the above noted plastics could also be employed, and Will be preferable in some embodiments of the invention. In some applications of the invention, however, it may be desirable to select a material having two different surfaces which are adapted to the characteristics of the materials to be inserted in the pouches. It will be noted in FIGURES 3 and 6 that the interior of one (14) of the two pockets is completely bounded or defined by one surface of the flexible material and that the other pocket (15) is completely bounded or defined by the other surface of said material. In the case of a double pocketed tobacco pouch, one surface of the flexible material may be covered with a decorative coating and the other with a tobacco and moisture resistant coating. With proper orientation of the material, the interior of the tobacco receiving pocket would then be entirely bounded or defined by the poisture and tobacco resistant material while the outer pocket would be entirely bounded or defined by the decorative material.

Therefore, the entire exterior of the pouch as a whole and the exposed interior of the shorter or shallower pocket would present a pleasing appearance while the interior of the tobacco pocket would be protected against dehydration by the treated interior thereof. An example of such coatings would be a paper substrate printed or embossed with a decorative pattern on one side and coated on both sides with a polyethylene film.

The advantages of the double pocketed pouch and pouch forming method of this invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. In the first place, the double pocketed pouch of this invention is simple, inexpensive, easy to form, and easy to fill. These are very important advantages in high volume packaging applications. Furthermore, the double pocketed pouch of this invention provides two adjacent but non-communicating pockets formed from a single piece of material. This is also important in applications where it is necessary for the material in the two pockets to be kept separated from each other. In the pouch of this invention, it is absolutely impossible for the material in one pocket to seep or infiltrate into the other pocket unless the material separating the two pockets is punctured. Also, the fact that the interior of one pocket is completely bounded or defined by one surface of the flexible material and the interior of the other pocket is completely bounded or defined by the other surface of the flexible material allows the two pockets of the pouch to be adapted for the holding of different materials or articles without any alteration of the pouch forming process.

In FIGURES 4 and 5 the marginal heat seals are indicated at 19 and the severance lines at which the connected series of pouches are separated 20. Also, it should be noted that the seals 19 could be formed by a cold pressure adhesive seal rather than a heat seal if desired, or by any other sealing technique that is applicable to relatively thin sheets of flexible material.

As shown in FIGURE 7 the first fold as indicated in FIGURE 2 may be made so as to provide one wall which is shorter than the other wall, thus to cause the other wall, in this case the back wall, to project at 21 and form a finger lip. This projecting finger lip will not only facilitate opening of the pouch for filling on the machine, but it will also facilitate subsequent openings by the user. Further, the presence of this lip will provide an additional means for pouch closure.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that this invention provides a novel pouch and pouch forming method which has important advantages over those heretofore known in the art. While one form of each of the article and method of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts and the steps of the method may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A double pocketed pouch comprising a single sheet of flexible material folded upon itself twice in the same direction, the lateral margins of said material being sealed together parallel to said direction of fold to form two adjacent but non-communicating pockets each having an open top, two sealed sides, and a closed bottom, the open top of one of said pockets being disposed an appreciable distance below the open top of the other of said pockets, said other open top being defined by terminal edges of said sheet, and the one open top being defined in part by a fold line formed upon the first folding of said sheet upon itself.

2. A double pocketed pouch as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said closed bottoms are formed by a fold in said flexible material.

3. A double pocketed pouch as defined in claim 1 wherein the interior of one pocket is entirely bounded by one surface of said sheet of flexible material and the interior of the other pocket is entirely bounded by the other surface of said sheet of flexible material.

4. A double pocketed pouch as defined in claim 1 wherein the other open top is defined by opposing wall portions of said terminal edges one of which is longer than the other to present a finger lip extension.

5. The double pocketed pouch as defined in claim 1 wherein said terminal edges are unconnected except at said two sealed sides.

6. A double pocketed pouch comprising a single sheet of flexible material folded upon itself twice in the same direction to define a pair of parallel fold lines, said pouch including a first pocket and a second pocket, said first and second pockets having sealed lateral sides, said first pocket being shorter than said second pocket and being defined by two overlying panels, said second pockets being defined by one of said two overlying panels and another panel, said another panel and the other of said two overlying panels of said first pocket being joined along a first of said pair of parallel fold lines formed upon the first folding of said sheet upon itself, said two overlying panels being joined by the other of said pair of parallel fold lines, said one panel being a common wall of both of said pockets, and said one and another panels having free terminal edges disposed above said first and second fold lines and forming an open mouth of said second pocket.

7. A method of forming a double pocketed pouch from a single sheet of flexible material comprising the steps of (A) folding said flexible material upon itself in one direction to form a first fold line, (B) folding said flexible material partially upon itself a second time in the same direction to position the first fold line between opposite generally parallel edges of the twice-folded sheet, and (C) sealing said flexible material along two lines parallel with said direction of fold, the distance between said two lines defining the width of said double pocketed pouch.

8. A method of forming double pocketed pouches from a single sheet of flexible material comprising the steps of (A) folding said flexible material upon itself in one direction to form a first fold line, (B) folding said flexible material partially upon itself a second time in the same direction to position the first fold line between opposite generally parallel edges of the twice-folded sheet, (C) sealing said flexible material along equidistantly spaced lines parallel with said direction of fold to define a connected series of pouch lengths, the distance between each adjacent two of said lines defining the width of one said double pocketed pouch, and (D) cutting said flexiible material along said seals to separate the series of connected pouches into individual pouches.

9. The method defined in claim 8 and also including the steps of (C) filling at least one of the two pockets formed by the double folded material between each two adjacent seals, the step (C) occurring after step (C) and before step (D).

10. The method defined in claim 9 and also including the step of (C") closing the filled pouches, the step (C") occurring after step (C) and before step (D).

11. A method of forming double pocketed pouches from a single sheet of flexible material comprising the steps of (A) folding said flexible material upon itself in one direction to form a first fold line, (B) folding said flexible material partially upon itself a second time in the same direction to position the first fold line between opposite generally parallel edges of the twice-folded'sheet, (C) sealing said flexible material along two lines parallel with said direction of fold, the distance between said two lines defining the width of said double pocketed pouch, said first folding of said flexible material upon itself being formed in a manner providing opposed Wall portions defining an open mouth having one lip projecting beyond the other as an opening facilitating finger lip extension.

3,394,870 5 6 12. The method as defined in claim 7 including the References Cited step of (E) conveying the flexible material along a pre- UNITED STATES PATENTS determined path during the folding of steps (A) and (B),

a d (F) forming the two lines of parallel sealing in a 3'105417 10/1963 Hammer 93*35 direction normal to the predetermined path. 5 DAVID M, BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner. 

